MUMBAI: Former India cricket captain Ajit Wadekar, the first man to lead India to series wins in the West Indies and England, passed away here on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 77.
Under Wadekar, who played 37 Tests in his career, India won five matches in the West Indies in the early 1970s before beating England in a three-match series.
Wadekar, who scored 2,113 Test runs with 14 half centuries and a century, also led India to a third successive series victory, beating England once again in 1972-73.
He also appeared in two One-day Internationals.
An aggressive left-handed batsman, Wadekar made his first class debut in 1958-59 before making his India debut in 1966-67.
After his retirement, he also served as the Manager of the national team led by Mohammed Azharuddin in the 1990s.
It was under Wadekar’s captaincy that the legend of Sunil Gavaskar, who made his debut on that 1971 tour of the Caribbean, was born and it was when Wadekar was coach that Sachin Tendulkar took his first steps towards becoming a legend in the early-to-mid 90s.
